Job Interview
by Red Tigress
Summary: SPOILERS FOR CAP2. At the end of the day, Maria Hill needs a new job. Ficlet, one-shot.


Maria Hill took a deep breath. She still wasn't sure why exactly she was so nervous. Maybe it was because she hadn't had to job hunt in ages. Maybe it was fear of something new.

Maybe it was fear of something boring.

With a mental shake of her head, she spoke out loud, staring at the number on her phone she hadn't yet dialed. "It's Stark Industries? How boring could it be?" Both of their last two CEOs had been kidnapped, both times ending in violent explosions and a lot of death. In a weird, twisted way, it was exactly the job she was looking for.

She hit the call button.

"Stark Industries, Miss Potts' office." A stern-sounding woman's voice answered the phone.

"Yes, could you please tell Miss Potts that it's Maria Hill calling."

* * *

The next day, Maria Hill found herself in LA sitting on the other side of the desk from Pepper Potts. They had never had the pleasure of actually meeting in person but Maria Hill had no doubt Pepper knew everything about her that Tony Stark knew.

Pepper sat up straight at an immaculate desk, her smile instantly putting Maria at ease. Maria had already been totally honest with her, telling Pepper her version of the events in DC. Through it all, Pepper had listened attentively and calmly, not interrupting her.

When she was done, Pepper smiled sympathetically at her. "I can't say I envy that cleanup. We've already donated money to the cleanup efforts, but I'm sure you understand how we'd like to…keep clear of political events after A.I.M."

While Pepper's voice remained steady, Maria saw her eyes glance up and to the right- her only breakage of professionalism. She couldn't stop her own eyes from darting to Pepper's skin, looking for traces of Extremis. It had been almost a year ago now, but Maria was sure the events still couldn't have been easy for Pepper to talk about.

"I understand, and believe me, that's not what this is about."

Pepper smiled again. "I know. With SHIELD gone, you need a job."

Maria nodded. "Sorry my résumé isn't updated-"

Pepper waved her hand. "It's fine, Miss Hill. I think your credentials speak for themselves and you're actually one of the few people at SHIELD that Tony trusts."

Maria's eyebrows raised in surprise. She didn't even think Stark _liked_ her. "Really?"

"I know," Pepper said rolling her eyes. "Between the two of us, we've got trust issues a mile wide, but I guess he did some digging and was really impressed by your actions in New York."

"That's…" Maria blinked in surprise. "oddly flattering."

Pepper smiled again. "Well, Happy and I have been looking for a new head of security for our New York office. You've certainly got the credentials, and you've definitely exhibited grace under fire. Unfortunately, things around here tend to get more heated than other Fortune 500 companies, as I'm sure you could guess." Maria had to snort at that, and even Pepper smiled at her unintentional pun. "Besides overseeing physical security, you'd also be overseeing cybersecurity and it would include quite a bit of logistics planning. I'm in New York a few times a month, and lately Tony has been splitting his time evenly between there and here. He's a little more…" she trailed off, and Maria saw the fondness mixed with exasperation on her face. "Spontaneous."

"I assure you, I can deal with spontaneity," Maria replied dryly.

"That's just the Stark Industries end," Pepper continued. "Tony has this long term plan. I'm not sure how fruitful it will be."

"For the Avengers?" Maria guessed. Pepper nodded. Maria scratched her forehead, thinking out loud. "To privately fund them as opposed to having SHIELD tell them what to do. As a…response team?"

"Something like that," Pepper agreed. "There's a lot of logistics involved. It's still in its infantile stages of development, and at this point a very, very remote possibility. However…"

"However if it did happen, you'd need a coordinator. Someone who could run Stark security while simultaneously detecting threats. So the next time something like DC or Cambridge or Air Force One happens, everyone's on the same page."

Pepper smiled smugly, and Maria could see she was pleased they understood each other. She leaned forward. "So. Are you up for the challenge?"

Maria smiled back. "When do I start?"


End file.
